Sellero (
Sèler in lombard,
Hèler in camunian dialect) is a commune of 1.503 people in the
province of BresciaThe Province of Brescia is a Province in Lombardy, Italy. It borders with the province of Sondrio in the N and NW, the province of Bergamo in the W, province of Cremona in the SW and S, the province of Mantova to the S, and to the east, the province of Verona and the Province of Trento .Source for...
(far 83 km from
BresciaBrescia is a city in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, between the Mella and the Naviglio, with a population of around 191,000. It is the second largest city in Lombardy, after the capital, Milan...
) in the middle
Val CamonicaVal Camonica is one of the largest valleys of the central Alps, in eastern Lombardy, about 90 km long. It starts from the Tonale Pass, at 1883 metres above sea level and ends at Corna Trentapassi, in the comune of Pisogne, near Lake Iseo...
.
In his territory there are thousands of rock engravings, including the "Rosa camuna" in Carpene (which is the symbol of
LombardyLombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region...
region). In the commune's territory there are also examples of energy excellence, such as the San Fiorano's underground hydroelectric power (in Scianica) and a biomass tele-heating power.
The commune consisting of the inhabited of Sellero (the most important of the commune) and the
frazioneA frazione , in Italy, is the name given in administrative law to a type of territorial subdivision of a comune; for other administrative divisions, see municipio, circoscrizione, quartiere...
of Novelle.
Sellero (
Sèler in lombard,
Hèler in camunian dialect) is a commune of 1.503 people in the
province of BresciaThe Province of Brescia is a Province in Lombardy, Italy. It borders with the province of Sondrio in the N and NW, the province of Bergamo in the W, province of Cremona in the SW and S, the province of Mantova to the S, and to the east, the province of Verona and the Province of Trento .Source for...
(far 83 km from
BresciaBrescia is a city in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, between the Mella and the Naviglio, with a population of around 191,000. It is the second largest city in Lombardy, after the capital, Milan...
) in the middle
Val CamonicaVal Camonica is one of the largest valleys of the central Alps, in eastern Lombardy, about 90 km long. It starts from the Tonale Pass, at 1883 metres above sea level and ends at Corna Trentapassi, in the comune of Pisogne, near Lake Iseo...
.
In his territory there are thousands of rock engravings, including the "Rosa camuna" in Carpene (which is the symbol of
LombardyLombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region...
region). In the commune's territory there are also examples of energy excellence, such as the San Fiorano's underground hydroelectric power (in Scianica) and a biomass tele-heating power.
The commune consisting of the inhabited of Sellero (the most important of the commune) and the
frazioneA frazione , in Italy, is the name given in administrative law to a type of territorial subdivision of a comune; for other administrative divisions, see municipio, circoscrizione, quartiere...
of Novelle. Even though it isn't a
frazioneA frazione , in Italy, is the name given in administrative law to a type of territorial subdivision of a comune; for other administrative divisions, see municipio, circoscrizione, quartiere...
, is important the Scianica, situated in the valley floor and developed in 70/80 years of last century.
Geography
The commune is situated in the middle
Val CamonicaVal Camonica is one of the largest valleys of the central Alps, in eastern Lombardy, about 90 km long. It starts from the Tonale Pass, at 1883 metres above sea level and ends at Corna Trentapassi, in the comune of Pisogne, near Lake Iseo...
, in the
province of BresciaThe Province of Brescia is a Province in Lombardy, Italy. It borders with the province of Sondrio in the N and NW, the province of Bergamo in the W, province of Cremona in the SW and S, the province of Mantova to the S, and to the east, the province of Verona and the Province of Trento .Source for...
.
Close between the near communes (
Berzo DemoBerzo Demo is a Italian comune of 1.772 inhabitants in Val Camonica, province of Brescia, in Lombardy.-Geography:...
,
Capo di PonteCapo di Ponte is an italian comune of 2.483 abitanti in Val Camonica, province of Brescia, in Lombardy.-Geography:...
,
CedegoloCedegolo is a italian comune of 1.264 inhabitants in Val Camonica, province of Brescia, in Lombardy.-Geography:The village of Cedegolo located in a narrow gorge formed by Oglio river, on its eastern side...
and
Paisco LovenoPaisco Loveno is a commune in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy....
), it saw to reduce his territorial extension after the second world war, when gave a lot of his ground, especially mountainous or wooded, at the another communes in the zone (for example the homonym mountain is in the
province of SondrioThe Province of Sondrio is a province in the Lombardy region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Sondrio.It has an area of 3,212 km², and a total population of 176,856...
).
In its territory flows the
OglioThe Oglio is a left-side tributary of the Po River in Lombardy, Italy. It is 280 km long.The Oglio is formed from the confluence of two mountain streams, the Narcanello from the Presena Glacier, and the Frigidolfo, from Lake Ercavallo, in the Stelvio National Park...
river, the fifth Italian river, and his affluent, the Re torrent.
The highest mountain is Elto mountain, which is 2,145 metres high.
History
There are traces of a Camunic village (the rock engraving of "rosa camuna", which is the symbol of
LombardyLombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region...
).
But these traces disappear after the Roman conquest (AD 16).
For some studies there was a repopulation during the Middle Ages (there is the church' dedication at Saint Desiderio, which is a Frankish dedication and the name of village in some medieval documents) interrupted by plague in XIV century.
Recently, from 1927 to 1948 the commune joined with
CedegoloCedegolo is a italian comune of 1.264 inhabitants in Val Camonica, province of Brescia, in Lombardy.-Geography:The village of Cedegolo located in a narrow gorge formed by Oglio river, on its eastern side...
, a neighbouring commune.
Population trends, 1861–2001
| Year |
Population |
| 1861 |
795 |
| 1871 |
833 |
| 1881 |
907 |
| 1901 |
902 |
| 1911 |
1.054 |
| 1921 |
1.125 |
| 1931 |
1.202 |
| 1936 |
1.206 |
| 1951 |
1.481 |
| 1961 |
1.548 |
| 1971 |
1.559 |
| 1981 |
1.561 |
| 1991 |
1.508 |
| 2001 |
1.475 |
Source: ISTATISTAT may refer to:* International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading, an aircraft standards organization* Istituto Nazionale di Statistica, Italian National Statistics Institute...
Interesting places
The two churches of the town, the parish church (Saint Mary) and the ancient church (Saint Desiderio) present some interesting artistic works.
The parish church, finished in 1785, presents an interesting altar in
SicilySicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is an autonomous region of Italy. Several much smaller islands surrounding it are considered to be part of Sicily....
's and
VeronaVerona is a city in Veneto, northern Italy, one of the seven provincial capitals in the region. It is one of the main tourist destinations in north-eastern Italy, thanks to its artistic heritage, several annual fairs, shows and operas, such as the lyrical season in the Arena, the ancient...
's marble and a portal in
Vezza d'OglioVezza d'Oglio is a commune in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy. It is located within the high Camonica Valley.-Important Events:...
's marble. Also the ancient church, erected by Frankish, can be visited and presents some Pietro di Cemmo's frescos.
Near the
frazioneA frazione , in Italy, is the name given in administrative law to a type of territorial subdivision of a comune; for other administrative divisions, see municipio, circoscrizione, quartiere...
of Novelle there are the Carona's mines, which can be visited with equipment for speleology.
Economy
Sellero, from 1950 to 1980, was an important industrial town in Valle Camonica, thank to the Scianica's little plain.
The first activity started in 1907 when the Curletti company began the utilization of Carona's mine for the sulphur's mining, and finished in 1951.
With the mines' utilization some people founded the SEFE (
, in English
Society for the management of electric furnaces) which built three furnaces for the
calcium carbidethumb|right|Calcium carbide.Calcium carbide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula of CaC
2. The material is colorless, but most samples have a color ranging from black to grayish-white, depending on the grade...
's production.
Now the first activity is an iron factory, Riva Acciaio (
Riva Iron).